Wow that is some serious driving! I've always loved to take cars to their limits in the mountains and I was eager to see how the Model 3 would do both for handling and repeated full power acceleration. You answered both of these questions thank you! It looks like I'm going to be a very happy camper when I get my performance Model 3.
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Model 3 Track Day: Laguna Seca
- Thread starter mattcrowley
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DR61
Member
Very nice to see that the motor power was maintained for your session!
I'm not surprised that the stock street pads did not last long, given the car's weight. Also the pads have to bite well when very cold because much slowing in street driving will be via regen. I raced a VW GTI at Laguna in the early 1990's and my mechanic friend asked me to evaluate a new type of pad. The new front pads he put in lasted about 6 laps before they totally disappeared - and this on a 2100 lb. car. Went back to my usual Hawk Blues pronto...
I'm not surprised that the stock street pads did not last long, given the car's weight. Also the pads have to bite well when very cold because much slowing in street driving will be via regen. I raced a VW GTI at Laguna in the early 1990's and my mechanic friend asked me to evaluate a new type of pad. The new front pads he put in lasted about 6 laps before they totally disappeared - and this on a 2100 lb. car. Went back to my usual Hawk Blues pronto...
mjgillen
Member
Sorry if I missed it however what was your top speed?
Thanks for the write up and photos. Looking forward to any videos as well.
Michael
Thanks for the write up and photos. Looking forward to any videos as well.
Michael
Snow Drift
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I used to do HPDE days in my WRXs with Hawk HP+ pads, which are performance street pads. After a few hot laps they would fade. Then I upgraded to real track day pads from StopTech and they performed amazing.
Did you have replacement pads available at the track? It doesn't look like it was in any shape to keep driving it after you ran down the pads and fluid at the track.
Also, did you find the NEMA 14-50's scattered around the paddock? Do any charging while there?
Also, did you find the NEMA 14-50's scattered around the paddock? Do any charging while there?
sreams
Member
To give everybody a reference for what this track is like... Here's me last week in my 1972 BMW 3.0cs:
You're welcome! This was just a fun thing to try. The lack of brakes during the second half of the session was challenging, but this car has promise.
Top speed on the video looks to be 109 MPH (175 KPH) entering turn 2. I think better conditions and maybe better tires, I could get 115 MPH (185 KPH) entering turn 2...maybe higher with late braking.
Working on the video now. I hope to post it later tonight.
I wish I could have replaced the pads at the track, but I wasn't prepared for running the Model 3 today. This was a last minutes thing, since my track prepped Porsche GT4 wasn't ready for this scheduled (paid and no cancellations) track event.
The paddock had a lot of NEMA 6-15 plugs around the garage. I didn't have this specific adapter for my Tesla charging cable (I only have the 110V NEMA 5-15 and the NEMA 14-50. This would have helped in the morning and lunch breaks, but not between sessions. This adapter would probably be ~25-30 MPH (~40-48 KPH) charging.
Good data, thanks. Cooked the fronts pretty quick. It might be a while yet to source good street/track pads. The front Brembos look like no others I’ve seen. The backs look generic. I ran Hawk HP Plus for years Street/track to avoid constant changing along with Motul 600 RBF. Bled the fronts after every day. I would get 3 to 4 track days on the front pads.
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
Granted I've never raced my vehicles on the track, but am I understanding correctly, that the brakes which many claim will go 100,000 miles were worn completely away in 4 laps? OMG. I doubt anyone will see 100K on these pads then....
Super awesome that the battery didn't slow. I wonder if you used standard regen if it would have affected the battery longevity ?
Super awesome that the battery didn't slow. I wonder if you used standard regen if it would have affected the battery longevity ?
sreams
Member
I wouldn't worry about it. Without the right pads, any car would experience this on a track. I went through stock pads on my 1972 BMW 2002 in one track day. With more track-centric pads, I go through maybe 10% of them.
mkspeedr
Member
Wow, awesome time! 1:57 is great. 1:55 would have put you 4th at the 2017 refuel event and 1:52 flat would have won the production class.
If the model 3 can run 1:50 - I will need to buy the dual motor version for sure. It will be king until the roadster arrives.
My 200hp Ducati runs 1:42 but it is rider limited (unfortunately me) - about 135mph top speed.
If the model 3 can run 1:50 - I will need to buy the dual motor version for sure. It will be king until the roadster arrives.
My 200hp Ducati runs 1:42 but it is rider limited (unfortunately me) - about 135mph top speed.
Plenty of people will if they use regenerative braking properly. Those who use it like an ICE will not.
FYI, I have found multiple NEMA14-50 around the track. It looks like you found those 6-15's in the actual shop area. But in the parking lot near the concession shop you may find some 14-50s tucked away. They may have been put there for RVs to use, but at Refuel race events EVs use them for recharging.
I am surprised you didn't hit power cut. I took my Tercedes B Class there two years ago, the car was basically in reduced power mode going up Rahal straight despite not overheating, not low on charge, not doing anything on the first lap! I even tried to skip all warm up laps and tried to power down from the hairpin, I was getting power cut at basically the same spot. I guess they tuned the ECU to limit power after about 45 sec of WOT. I wonder if the 2170 battery is differnet than the old ones?
All drivers install tow hooks before going on the track. That way if towing is needed you don't have to futz around installing the tow hook while standing on the track. Tow team drives out, tow line is attached and they pull you to safety.
Yea, these brakes should have lasted longer than 4-5 laps (video coming soon). I know that this was a track day and that I was on the brakes...but these brakes are not that great. I would love to share with Tesla what is left of the brakes after 4-5 laps on a track. Also, if a company has performance pads/rotors...give me a PM, I would be open to trying them on the Model 3.
I used Low power regeneration for the track today. You will see in the video (when I publish it to YouTube soon) that I changed the regen to Standard when I get off the track to stop from hitting the pit wall, since the brakes were toasted. I should have changed it earlier, but...I was a little busy. ;-)
You rarely use brakes in normal driving. And you almost never slam them. At a track, you are constantly hitting them, hard and sustained. When racing at a track, you want to have special high performance brake pads, high performance brake fluid, and an oil cooler (obviously not needed on an EV) at a minimum.
Cool track report! Thanks a bunch, we were all wondering what the Model 3 could do. Obviously, we need to gather even more data, but your day was a good start.
I’m still in awe/shock that you ran five laps without fully functional brakes...
I’m still in awe/shock that you ran five laps without fully functional brakes...
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